HALO-Flight charity receives new IFR-equipped Bell 407GXi

Bell’s Lane Evans and Bobby Frey are pictured with HALO-Flight’s Travis Patterson, Randy Endsly and Shannon Garcia.

Texas air ambulance charity HALO-Flight has taken delivery of a new IFR-equipped Bell 407GXi. The helicopter – the fifth Bell 407GXi to reach the air ambulance  –  completes its fleet renewal.

The delivery makes the charity Bell’s first customer to integrate the manufacturer’s Customer Advantage Plan (CAP) programme and GPMS’s Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) designed to ease maintenance and to improve mission reliability.

Founded in 1987, HALO-Flight serves a 28,000sq mile area in south Texas, providing life-saving air medical transport for residents in underserved and rural communities. It’s helicopter crews and medical staff respond to emergencies ranging from accidents to hospital transfers.

“This new Bell 407GXi represents more than an aircraft, it’s an investment in the safety and health of our community,” said Travis Patterson, CEO, HALO-Flight. “Our work with Bell ensures we can continue providing the highest standard of emergency medical response for the people who depend on us most regardless of their ability to pay.”

Lane Evans, the manufacturer’s MD, North America Sales said HALO-Flight has offered patients in need of urgent medical care a vital lifeline for more than 30 years.  “We are proud to continue supporting their mission with aircraft that embody reliability, safety, and performance,” he said. “The Bell 407GXi delivers the power and precision that emergency operators depend on every day.”

The Bell 407GXi’s spacious cabin and Rolls-Royce Model 250-C47E/4 turboshaft engine are said to enable the aircraft to respond swiftly and safely to emergencies while carrying critical care specialists and lifesaving equipment.

Both organisations marked the delivery with a ceremony during the Air Medical Transport Conference in Omaha, Nebraska this week.

Meanwhile, last week, parent company Textron reported an increase of 10% year-over-year in third-quarter revenues of its Bell segment owing to a higher contribution from military services.